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I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve written a poem outside of high school English. Nonetheless, I am in a poetic mood today and this poem summarizes my attitude about university (and should prove entertaining if nothing else). If you’re on this blog because of my recent Science One presentation, I will have the PowerPoint slides and handout from the it available soon.

You are not stupid,
You are not dumb.
You are not less intelligent,
Than anyone else. Really, it’s true.

This is first year,
And everyone struggles,
Your really smart friends,
Are working their butts off too.

Chemistry, math, biology, and French,
Physics, economics, poli sci, and English,
App Sci, forestry, F & H, and philosophy,
Will be be challenging at the beginning.

Hang in there,
And don’t doubt yourself.
This is where you’re supposed to be,
You are capable!

To overcome the learning curve,
And to learn more efficiently,
Discover and use excellent study skills,
And brush up on your time management too.

Learning and getting good grades aren’t easy,
And there are potholes in your way.
You may feel dumb ocassionally as you progress,
But that’s ok – soon you’ll be well on your way.

It might take a while,
To get to where you want to be academically,
But fret not and you will get there.
As long as you keep believing and trying.

This is university,
Where learning occurs,
Both from within the classroom,
And outside in the “real world”.

University is what you make of it,
And no one will hold your hands.
It is up to you,
To discover your passions and dreams.

Take advantage of opportunities,
That will fly your way.
Stretch your wings,
And turn your dreams into reality.

You are not alone,
And there many people who can help you on your journey.
Whether you want to learn how to learn or grow personally,
Reach out! Be proactive! Find resources!

Your education is more than a piece of paper,
And while your studies are important,
Don’t neglect balance and personal well-being.
And be wary of the insidious “burning out” bug!

And while this poem,
May not always rhyme,
Its intentions are sincere,
And its logic mostly sound.

All the best for the future.
You will be successful, have no doubt.
You are not stupid or dumb.
You are awesome.

Thank you to everyone who came out to my CLASS presentation on the 27th! I hope you had fun (or as much as possible while talking about learning – I go gaga for this stuff, but not everyone else does :P) and learned some new things. As promised, here are the handouts and PowerPoint slides. Unfortunately, the presentation isn’t completely stand-alone. However, the Research Approach to Learning section should make sense even to people who were not in the workshop.

Feeling overwhelmed by university is normal. Everything is new and adjusting takes time. Unfortunately, the adjustment process isn’t always (never?) smooth and may be littered with missed assignments, forgotten deadlines, bombed exams, and crappy essays. Every student is different, and some adjust faster than others. Contrary to popular belief, poor academics is not the reason why people don’t do well in university – adjusting mentally to the fundamental differences between university and high school is. Poor grades is often a symptom, not a cause.

So what can you do? Keep the following things in mind:

1) Most people also feel overwhelmed.

Yes, some students adapt to university like fish to water, but most students adapt to university like dog to water (initially disoriented, but gradually getting use to it and even liking it). You’re not the only one, so don’t be shy and talk to other students about your questions and concerns. Ask others how they deal. If possible, find a few friends a couple of years ahead and ask them how they lived through it all (talk to the survivors!). Ask for advice, guidance, and maybe even mentorship. In fact, some schools offer mentorship programs for new students, so take advantage of them. Use the wisdom of people who’ve “been there, done that”.

University is NOT high school and you cannot think of it in the same way! <– This is possible the most important sentence of the entire post, so I’ll repeat it: University is NOT high school and you cannot think of it in the same way!

2) Professors are professors, NOT teachers.

University professors are generally hired for their ability to do research as opposed to for their ability to teach (in fact, more than one professor/instructor have told me that they were only asked to provide a short teaching statement, and nothing else teaching-related, before being hired).

Thus professors, brilliant people that they are, don’t always understand or appreciate undergraduate students. Some of them hate teaching, but have to. Others just can’t seem to connect with the students. Yet others can’t seem to present the topic in a coherent manner. Some are monotonous, others have an accents, and a few speak too softly. Even worse, some profs simply don’t understand why you don’t understand the perfectly understandable topic they just presented to you. Yeah. I got that too. Add that to the fact that university classes proceed at 3 to 5 times the speed of a high school class and most of the learning is supposed to occur outside of lecture time, and it’s no surprise students feel in over their heads. What can you do? Realize that:

3) It’s all about you.

No, the universe does not revolve around you, but your academic success does. In high school, it was all about the teacher. He or she wrote out careful notes on the overhead, taught you the 20 types of questions that are likely to show up on an exam, chased you down for homework, and talked with you when your grades are suffering. The teacher was expected to teach at a certain level and model tests after practice questions. The teacher held your hand and made sure you didn’t fall.

That won’t happen in university. Profs won’t write out nice concise notes, teach you every possible application of a theory, chase you down for anything, or worry about your grades. Profs won’t hold your hand and he or she won’t be there to catch you when you screw up.

What’s especially unnerving is that while professors may do their best to teach you, they probably don’t have time to teach you everything on the curriculum and they certainly won’t show you each permutation of a type of problem. I remember mentally blaming my professor the first time I did terribly on an exam. I thought “well, it’s all the prof’s fault because he didn’t teach us everything”. BUT that’s just it – in university, it is not your professor’s job to teach you everything. It is your job to learn everything – the professor is merely there to help.

This is why studying outside of class hours is so crucial. Typically, the ratio of out-of-class to in-class time spent on a course is:

Easy course – 2:1
Medium course – 3:1
Hard course – 4:1

Yes, that’s 2-4 hours of outside time for each hour of in-class time!

Profs won’t care about you if you don’t make a conscious effort to help yourself. A high school teacher is like a shepherd – he or she kept the herd together and every sheep safe. On the other hand, a university professor is more like a train conductor. He or she will open the door and help you on the train, but his or her main aim is to keeps the train on schedule for the majority of travelers. In high school it’s about making sure no one fails. In university, it’s about making sure most people succeed.

The onus is on YOU. You have to make sure you find your seat on that train. You have to ask for help if you need it. You have to find ways to get back on if you miss it. No one else will do it for you.

4) So what if he/she is smarter than you?

We all know someone like him/her (or is him/her!). The keener at the front of the class. The one with an answer to every question. The Hermione. He or she understands a topic intuitively and has flawless recall. Being the professor’s favourite, a high A in the course seems guaranteed.

So what? Your classmate’s smart. What does that have to do with you? The answer is really “nothing”, but no one likes the keener. Why? Because he or she makes others feel inadequate. Not smart enough. This is especially hard because you were near the top of your class (if not at the very top) in high school. You’re use to being outstanding and being simply “good” takes some getting use to.

This is where I’m going to use tough love. Suck it up. You’re not the best but you don’t have to be the best to get an outstanding grade! If you really care about being the best, work harder at the class. But really, let it go. You don’t like the keener, why are you trying to be him/her? Furthermore, looking like you’re the best is NOT the same as actually being the best. Which one is more important to you…?

5) Don’t write yourself off.

While it’s one thing to be upset about not being the best, it’s another to keep thinking you’re not as good as anyone else. You’re at the same school, the same program, and the same class as whomever you’re comparing yourself to. You are just as good if not better. Don’t believe otherwise! Hang in there, by your fingernails if you have to, and you’ll succeed spectacularly. *Cue bunnies and rainbows and other feel good objects*

6) Perfectionism doesn’t pay.

I’m a perfectionist. There, I said it. I proof-read papers dozens of times before handing it in and can’t seem to send off an e-mail with a typo or a missed capital letter. But I really shouldn’t be (and am working on it) because perfectionism is not a good thing in university. A student only has limited time to study. Being a perfectionist eats into valuable time that could be spent on something that has a higher payoff per time spent.

How do I avoid the perfectionism trap? I allocate an x number of proof-reads for anything I have to hand in and tries to stick to that number. I also have friends who warn me if I’m starting to go into the “this has to be perfect” zone. I still drive myself and others nuts sometimes, but it is slowly getting better.

7) Have a life.

Piano, violin, clarinet, ballet, ball-room dancing, tennis, soccer, ultimate Frisbee… the list of extracurricular activities students give up once starting university is a mile long. While it is a good idea to put some activities on hold to focus more time on school (you’ll find yourself studying a lot more than high school), dropping all activities and JUST studying isn’t a good idea. Actually, your grades will probably suffer if your brain doesn’t take a break once in a while.

This is not an argument for getting drunk every weekend (or every night).

Drop some of your least favourite or important extracurricular activities, then slowly pick them back up again throughout the school year to ensure it is adding joy to your life and not just causing you stress. Don’t just stick to activities you’re comfortable with – try something new! Your university probably offers a wide range of activities, so give some of them a shot.

8 ) It gets better.

While 15% of students drop out of Canadian university, most students head in that direction during or right after first year. Hang in there and if you make it through first year, you’re pretty much set.

9) It really is all about attitude. Short of sounding like a Hallmark card, it is about staying positive and believing in yourself. If you’re really feeling down, talk to someone! A friend, a parent, a trusted professor, etc. If you prefer, talk to a professional. Most schools have free counselling services for students. Go, unload yourself. You’ll feel better, I promise.

Since adjusting to university is largely a mental battle, some students do fall through the cracks. I knew of one student whose parents were getting divorced and were constantly fighting so he could never study in peace. Another student was so shy she couldn’t talk to anyone on campus for a month. Other perfectly capable students fail exams for the first time in their lives and couldn’t climb back out of the “I’m a failure” hole (in fact, this is probably the most common red flag).

If you feel yourself slipping the cracks through academically, emotionally, or personally, don’t be damsel in distress. Don’t wait for anyone to save you. NO ONE ELSE cares about how you do as much as you. Plenty of people will be willing to help you, but you have to be proactive, not reactive.

If you’ve read through this extremely long blog post and actually think it makes some sense, you’re all set for university. The battle is mental and it’s initially a war of attrition. Hang in there and have no fear, you’re going to kick some serious ass 🙂

Ok, I admit it. I’m in a rut. I’ve started writing 3 posts in the last week and couldn’t get past the first few sentences. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of things to say but rather I can’t find the motivation to keep writing. Alas, since I’m less that peachy keen, here are some awesome ideas from other sites to kick of your summer.

If you’re taking summer classes, living in your parents’ basement, and are envious of your friends’ exciting summer plans, create a summer bucket list to alleviate your boredom and save your sanity. I’m really big on goals here at SotN. So list a few things you want to do and get to it! Speaking of bucket lists, if you’ve never seen the MTV show “The Buried Life” (I know, I know, MTV? Really? Really!), you should definitely check out an episode. While the show is quite entertaining all by itself, the idea behind it (make your dreams a reality *now* instead of later) is worth reiterating. You can watch almost all of the episodes online for free on MTV’s website.

If you’ve got your bucket list ready, but is just itching to do something a little different, unusual, or creative, but don’t really know where to start, learn to steal like an artist! This blog post by Austin Kleon is inspiration at its best – clear, direct, and unpretentious. What resonate most strongly with me is that you don’t have to completely know what you’re doing before you start. If you have an idea, let it germinate. Plan the best you can, generate new ideas by consolidating old ones, and fake it ’till you make it. You’ll be surprised by how much you and your idea grows in the process 🙂